Despite intensive German and Italian propaganda in South America, Fascism has not yet become a potent political force, the New York Times declared editorially today.
“The Latin-American dictators, though they sometimes pay lip service to the Fascist ideology, prefer the older, longer-tried and more direct military rule,” the editorial said. “Yet these dictators, by occasional pronouncements and by specific acts, do give the impression that they desire to ape Hitler or Mussolini.
“If the resulting reaction in the United States and other democratic countries is more critical than is warranted by the facts, it is because of concern in these countries lest Fascism achieve a dominant position in some of the Americas.”
The Times listed Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay as admittedly undemocratic, Uruguay and Venezuela as personal regimes, Chile and Argentine as based on the formally expressed will of the people and only Colombia as a liberal democracy. One of the effects of Fascist agitation, the Times said, was to accelerate consolidation of trade unions
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
